Joshua 17:1-18
1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer,a and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
7 And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.
8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;
9 And the coast descended unto the river Kanah,b southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:
10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.
14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?
15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants,c if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
18 But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
THE WESTERN HALF TRIBE OF MANASSEH
(vs.1-13)
Manasseh's territory was immediately north of Ephraim, spreading from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. Manasseh means "forgetting reminding us of Paul's words in Philippians 3:13, "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Thus Manasseh and Ephraim go together. Manasseh was born first, but teaches us that we are to forget what we were in mere fleshly advantage, for that which is first is not spiritual, but natural. Thus, Ephraim was given the first place, which speaks of the positive bearing of fruit. For the positive must always take the precedence over the negative. Yet Manasseh has his place also, for we must all learn to put behind us all that is merely to the credit of the flesh.
One man is mentioned by name in verse 1, Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, "because he was a man of war." Manasseh had died long before Israel's deliverance from Egypt, but Machir succeeded to the place of the firstborn. He was given Gilead and Bashan, which were on the east side of Jordan.
Other children of Manasseh are listed in verse 2 as being given territory in the bounds of the tribe. But more than that, five daughters of one man, Zelophehad, were given the inheritance that would have been the possession of their father if he had not died before. The daughters had been promised this by Moses (Numbers 27:1), and now in boldness of faith they claim the inheritance (vs.3-4). Certainly also, believing women are as fully entitled to a spiritual inheritance in heavenly places as are men. This blessing for them is wonderful, though of course it does not do away with God's governmental order as to the relative place and responsibilities of the man and the woman in the assembly or in public testimony. In this there are distinctions that must always be maintained.
Verse 5 speak of ten shares taken by Manasseh on the west side of Jordan, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east. Thus, verse 1 refers to the east side of Jordan and verses 2-4 the west side. The daughters of Zelophehad received their inheritance among the sons mentioned in verse 2, and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
Manasseh had a relatively large possession, its border on the south adjoining Ephraim, the Mediterranean Sea being its west border and the river Jordan the east, though Issachar was on its north-east border, and Asher on the north (v.10).
A number of towns are mentioned in verse 11 which were in the territory given to Manasseh and Issachar, but Manasseh could not drive out the Canaanites who lived there. When Manasseh was strong enough, they put these Canaanites under forced labor, but did not drive them out (vs.12-13). Sadly, the territory of the church today is still compromised by the presence of people and principles that are not consistent with the pure truth of God.
COMPLAINTS RIGHTLY ANSWERED
(vs.14-18)
Though the territory allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh was large, yet they complained to Joshua that they had so little to inherit, saying that they were a great people, the Lord having blessed them. Did Ephraim think that, since Joshua was of Ephraim he would give them special recognition?
But Joshua was a man of God: he had been guided by God in the allotment of territory, and was not partial to his own tribe. His answer was wise and to the point, "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you" (v.6). This was land to which they had title, but they had not taken possession of it. They were much like many believers today, who would like to have what others had fought for, but are afraid of the conflict necessary to possess what they are entitled to.
They objected to Joshua that they need more than the mountain country, and that the valley areas were possessed by Canaanites who had chariots of iron (v.16). Joshua, courageous man of war as he was, considered this a feeble argument. He reminded them a second time of their own words, they were a great people, and if so, had great power. They were able to cut down the trees of the mountains and were also able to defeat and drive out the Canaanites, though they had chariots of iron (vs.17-18). Caleb had not let the formidable opposition of giants defeat him (ch.14:6-12), and faith will never be defeated by the appearance of great power on the part of the enemies of God. Thus Joshua silenced the arguments of Ephraim and Manasseh. He had the last word. How could they deny its appropriateness?